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Abraham Lincoln Elected U.S. President
Victorious in the Election of 1860, Lincoln declared "Government cannot endure half slave, half free." First Republican president, recieving 180 of 303 electoral votes and 40% popular vote. -
South Carolina Secession
South Carolina secedes from the Union. Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas follow suit within two months. -
Formation of Confederacy
The Confederate States of America is formed. Jefferson Davis, West Point graduate and former U.S. officer, is elected as president. -
Abraham Lincoln Sworn in Office
Sworn in as 16th president of the United States. -
Fort Sumter Attacked
Confederates open fire at Fort Sumter, Charleston, South Carolina at 4:30 a.m. under General Pierre Beauregard with 50 cannons. Begins the Civil War. -
Virginia Secession
Followed by Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina five weeks later. Confederacy increased to eleven states with a population of 9 million, including 4 million slaves. The Union had 21 states with a population of 20 million. -
Blockade Proclamation
Proclamation of Blockade issued by Abraham Lincoln. For the rest of the war, it would restrict the South from staying well supplied in war against industrialized North. -
Robert E. Lee Resigns
Resigns from the United States Army. "I cannot raise my hand against my birthplace, my home, my children." Accepted command of military and naval forces of Virginia. -
First Bull Run
Irvin McDowell, Union Army General, suffers defeat at Bull Run, 25 miles southwest of Washington. Thomas J. Jackson, Confederate General, resists Union attack, earning name "Stonewall." Union troops retreat to Washington. -
General War Order No. 1
Issued by Abraham Lincoln, calling for all United States naval and land forces to begin a general advance by February 22, George Washington's birthday. -
Peninsular Campaign
McClellan's Army of the Potomac advances from Washington down the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay to the peninsular south of the Confederate Capital of Richmond, Virginia then begins an advance toward Richmond. -
Battle of Shiloh
Confederate surprise attack on General Ulysses S. Grant's troops at Shiloh on Tennessee River. Bitter struggle with 13,000 Union killed and wounded and 10,000 Confederate. -
Capture of New Orleans
17 Union ships under the command of Flag Officer David Farragut move up the Mississippi River then take New Orleans, the South's greatest seaport. -
The Battle of Seven Pines
General Joseph E. Johnston's Army attacks McClellan's troops in front of Richmond and nearly defeats them. But Johnston is badly wounded. -
Seven Days Battle
Robert E. Lee attacks McClellan near Richmond, heavy losses for both armies. McClellan begins withdrawal back toward Washington. -
Second Battle of Bullrun
75,000 Federals under General John Pope defeated by 55,000 Confederates under General Stonewall Jackson and General James Longstreet in northern Virginia. Union Army retreats to Washington. The president then relieves Pope. -
Battle of Antietam
General Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Armies are stopped at Antietam in Maryland by McClellan and numerically superior Union forces. By nightfall 26,000 men are dead, wounded, or missing. Lee withdraws to Virginia. -
Battle of Fredericksburg
Army of the Potomac under General Burnside suffers defeat at Fredericksburg in Virginia. Loss of 12,653 men after 14 frontal assaults on well entrenched Rebels on Marye's Heights. "We might as well have tried to take hell," a Union soldier remarks. Confederate losses are 5,309. -
Emancipation Proclamation
Issued by Abraham Lincoln, the final Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in territories held by Confederates, emphasizing the enlisting of black soldiers in the Union Army. The war to preserve the Union now becomes a revolutionary struggle for the abolition of slavery. -
Chancellorsville
Union Army under General Hooker defeated by Robert E.Lee's smaller forces at Battle of Chancellorsville in Virginia because of Lee's tactics. Confederate General Stonewall Jackson mortally wounded by his soldiers. Hooker retreats. Union losses are 17,000 killed, wounded and missing out of 130,000. The Confederates, 13, 000 out of 60,000. -
Stonewall Jackson Dies
Stonewall Jackson dies from his wounds, his last words, "Let us cross over the river and rest under the shade of the trees." -
Battle of Gettysburg
Confederates are defeated at the Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania. -
Battle of Vicksburg
Vicksburg, the last Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River, surrenders to General Ulysses S. Grant and Army of the West after a six week siege. With Union now in control of the Mississippi, the Confederacy is effectively split in two, cut off from its western allies. -
New York Anti-Draft Riots
Include arson and the murder of blacks by poor immigrant whites. Over 120 persons killed and $2 million in damage caused, until Union soldiers from Gettysburg restore order. -
Chickamuga
Confederate victory by General Braxton Bragg's Army of Tennessee at Chickamauga leaves General William S. Rosecrans' Union Army of the Cumberland trapped in Chattanooga, Tennessee under Confederate siege. -
Gettysburg Address
Abraham Lincoln delivers two-minute Gettysburg Address at a ceremony dedicating the battlefield as a National Cemetary. -
Siege of Chattanoga
The Rebel siege of Chattanooga ends as Union forces under Ulysses S. Grant defeat the siege army of Gen. Braxton Bragg. -
Cold Harbor
7,000 Union casualties in twenty minutes during an offensive against fortified Rebels at Cold Harbor in Virginia, as a result of mistake by Ulysses S. Grant. Many predicted the outcome. A dead soldier from Massachusetts whose last entry in his diary was, "June 3, 1864, Cold Harbor, Virginia. I was killed. -
McClellan Nominated
George B. McClellan nominated by the Democratic Party to run against Abraham Lincoln in the Election of 1864. -
Union Captures Atlanta
General William Tecumseh Sherman captures Atlanta. Telegraph's Abraham Lincoln "Atlanta is ours, and fairly won." Aids Lincoln's bid for re-election. -
Shenandoah Valley
Union victory by Cavalry General Phillip H. Sheridan over Jubal Early's troops. -
Abraham Lincoln Re-Elected
Defeating Democrat George B. McClellan, Abraham Lincoln is re-elected. Carries all but three states. 55 percent of the popular vote and 212 of 233 electoral votes. "I earnestly believe that the consequences of this day's work will be to the lasting advantage, if not the very salvation, of the country." -
March to the Sea Begins
William Tecumseh Sherman begins a March to the Sea with 62,000 after destroying Atlanta's warehouses and railroad facilities. President Lincoln on advice from Ulysses S. Grant approved idea. Sherman said "I can make Georgia howl!" -
Battle of Nashville
John Bell Hood's Rebel Army of 23,000 crushed at Nashville by 55,000 Federals including Negro troops under General George H. Thomas. Confederate Army of Tennessee ceases as effective fighting force. -
Savannah Captured
Sherman reaches Savannah in Georgia, 300 mile path of destruction 60 miles wide from Atlanta. Telegraphs Lincoln, offering Savannah as Christmas present. -
Thirteenth Amendment
Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, to abolish slavery, is approved by Congress. Submitted to states for ratification. -
Lincoln Inaugeration Ceremony
In Washington, inaugeration ceremonies for Abraham Lincoln. "With malice toward none; with charity for all, let us strive on to finish the work we are in...to do all which may achieve and cherish a just, and a lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations," -
Lee's Last Offense
Robert E. Lee attacks the center of Ulysses S. Grant's forces at Petersburg. Attack breaks four ours later. -
Union Petersburg Victory
Ulysses S. Grant advances, breaking through Robert E. Lee's lines at Petursburg. Confederate General Ambrose P. Hill killed. Lee evacuates, and the Confederate capital, Richmond, is evacuated. -
Robert E. Lee Surrenders
Confederate Army surrenders to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. "After four years of arduous service marked by unsurpassed courage and fortitude the Army of Northern Virginia has been compelled to yield to overwhelming numbers and resourcess." -
Lincoln's Assassination
Shot on Good Friday at 10:13 p.m., while attending play Our American Cousin at Ford's Theatre, by stage actor John Wilkes Booth in a Confederate revival effort. Died 7:22 a.m. the next morning, the first U.S. president to be assassinated.
